CSP

Monday 17 Dec 2007

CSP / Community Service Patrol

I don't know where to begin on this topic.
and I don't know where it will end because it will go on and on, regretfully.

Tonight I left theSteakhouse!! on 5th Ave and started to meander my way back to theHood!!

I was happy because I got a take-home piece of yellow Lemon cake,
those things are worth more than gold, and obviously,

people will do anything for left over cake to take, uh..
home that is, I....

I'll skip the telling of what I did for my cake,
gee. that one bartender girl is mmmeeeaaannnn
Next time she can clean her own damn floor drain grates!!

But I ignored the cold and walked, and walked.

I saw that at various places along the way, APD / Anchorage Police Dept would drive by and at one point along 5th!! ave, they had someone stopped alongside the street,

I had just left theHoliday with a pint of milk to take home and drink while eating my lemon cake,

and then further east by reeves I see APD driving around,

Ahead in the distance I could see an figure by side of the road waving at cars but no one stopped for them / him.

As I approached the lighted bus stop / benched shelter I observed an couple, Native no doubt, and older than me,

she's slumped over the metal bench and he's standing curbside waving cars down but everyone drives by,

Including the effing APD.

I understand quite intimately how it works though,

this day to day job of Public Safety,

From my VPSO days I understand more than most people the hour by hour patrols,

the mechanical, physical, emotional and mental machinations and turmoil,

I understand the calmness and serenity and even the horrors of the wheel time,
for,

when you drive at high speed and lose control on ice,
you spin and spin and can't stop, and while spinning round and sliding to your fate

you can only think about your, in my case of crashing one winter, bootleggers that sped past on snow machine and how you MUST catch up to them,

because if you fail to contact them, that means 3 days of drinking for some people and at least a week of misery for families involved,

and that includes over 21hrs of being awake per day for the drinking days and at least 18hrs of awakeness for the family per day,

yeah.
I did the math a few times when I was VPSO.

And when speeding to assist others, you drive and drive and stick to the highway even on hair pin curves and later on you wonder how you ever made it alive while driving black ice while doing 80 to 100mph.

And I also know how it is to just drive and patrol, you get to know the job and what people need when you see them,

I know.

But tonight,
when I walked back to theHood from washing dishes at theSteakHouse!!

I saw what, to me anyway, was an major infraction upon APD's part.
They / he / she drove past a citizen in need and kept on driving.

I have no idea why an watchCommander drives by twice and looks at ME but then one of his patrol vehicles never slows down for what turns out to be 2 inebriates in need of help.

I crossed the street and contacted the man as he stood, barely, and was waving at traffic that wasn't there.

my friends,
theNewssite info says tonight is +10F yet feels like -5F

It IS -5F and there's no wind yet.

My bald head and numb ears tells me the temps lately.
And my friends in need of help were intoxicated,

had been out in the cold about 50mins and the man couldn't feel his hands at all, I felt them, they were cold but he squeezed my hand,

his manual dexterity was poor, his speech barely intelligible and his thought process' were getting cloudy,

I called CSP / Community Service Patrol van on request for the man and his slumped over / passed out wife.

They showed up in 15mins.

I'm glad that NANA / PurcellSecurity has such an van and staffs it with such warm caring people,

Without the CSP van to help, theHomeless and otherwise Inebriate would have no one to help them as readily, and as quickly,

especially in theWinter time.

I will spare you theHomeless issues that I have authority to speak on,

I will not berate anyone really in this post from the VPSO work that gave me much Police related work, thus giving me authority to speak on that,

I'm just observing and reporting at this time of my life.
As I recently stated to an leo friend of mine,

I was active Public Safety, and then I went to PublicSafety At Large, now I'm just large!!

and she laughed, then thought for a moment,

because I am sick of telling others what to do, and tired of looking after criminals, most of what I consider "other people's children"

and now I'm just looking after me, Barely it seems at that, and yet,

tonight,

my God saw fit to put 2 people in my path and... well. 3 really.

And if I ever find out whom that cop was that drove by those people I'm gonna use their baton upon them,

and did awaken me a bit out of my denial of what I am at heart and always have been for most of my life.........a caring person,

hopefully as caring as many of you here.

I just don't like it when an Officer drives by and blatantly ignores 2 obviously distressed people, one of whom is slumped over on the bus stop bench,

Don't give up on each other, even if someone in need of your help is a total stranger to you,

and before that, don't give up on yourself either.

Merry Christmas and uhmm.

if'n you sees theSam!! weaving about town,

just empty his pockets and evenly distribute his Boxed food, his candy,
his vodka shot Bottles, his wallet, his CD player

and his apt keys & cell phone to weight his jacket EVENLY please!!

one time, it took theSam!! 3 extra hours to get back home cos theLeft jacket side and left BackPak pockets were heavier than the right!!

and put his KnitCap on his bald noggin' if it's below zero!!
but don't box his ears, cos they'd be real cold then.

luvs,
theSam!!